Locking device



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I N V EN TOR. 71 mm J MEI/0m,

R. J. CHRUDEN LOCKING DEVICE Filed Oct. 31, 1924 July 14, 1925.

A TTORNEY.

Patented July 14, 1925.

UNITED ST TES ROBEYRTJ'. oHRUnnN, on DULUTH, MinNEsorA-t I LOCKING DEVICE.

Application filed October 31, 1924. Serial No. flea/a.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT J. GHRUDEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Duluth, in the county of St, Louis and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Looking Devices, of which the following is a specification, referones being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to receptacle locking devices and has special reference to c0m bination means for securely holding or cracking two cooperative parts of a receptacle, such as a wardrobe trunk.

The principal object is to provide a simple device of this character operable by the initial opening of the trunk.

Other objects and advantages of the pe culiar construction will appear in the further description of the invention.

Referring now to the accompanying drawing forming part of this application and in which like reference characters indicate like parts:

Figure 1 is a vertical, through a wardrobe trunk;

Figure 2 is a fragmental plan view of the upper end of the trunk; and

Figure 3 is an enlarged diagram of the operating mechanism.

1 and 2 represent the two halves of the body portion of the trunk which are hingedly united at 3 along one longitudinal side thereof, and l and 5 are the two halves of the uppermost end of the trunk, the half 4 being hingedly united as at 6 to the upper end of the half 2 of the body portion, while the half 5 of the upper end is an integral part of the body portion 1.

Internally of and adjacent the free edge of the half 1 is a long slidable bar 7 it being slidably mounted within the spaced clips 8 and 9 at its lowermost end, while its uppermost end is pivotally connected as at 10 to the somewhat Z-shaped lever 11 pivotally mounted at 12 adjacent the upper side extremity of the half 2 of the body portion of the trunk. The opposite end of the lever 11 carries a laterally projecting L-shaped clip 13 thereupon for engagement with cooperative means carried directly thereabove on the side edge of the hinged portion 4 of the upper end of the trunk. This cooperative means comprises a dog 14 pivotally mounted central section as at 15 within the plate 16 suitably fastened in any'desired manner to the cover, and the dog leis held in its extreme lowermost position by a suitable contractile spring 17. The end of the: dog is hooked as at 18-, and designed, when the cover 4 is lowered or closed, to be interlocked with the horizontal portion of the Lshaped clip 13, as clearly shown in Figure 2 of the drawings, so that when the cover 4 is raised the dog will also raise the free end of the lever 11 to the position shown in Figure 3 in dotted lines, when it will automatically become freed therefrom by a further raising of the cover, etc. This, as is evident, would leave the lever 11 with its free end in the elevated po sition shown in Figure 2 and the bar 7 in its extreme depressed or unlocked position.

Now, when the trunk is again closed and the hinged portion of the cover 1 lowered, the lower edge of the plate 16, whichforms a housing for the dog and spring 14: and 17 respectively, will engage the clip 13 on the free end of the lever 11 and forcibly lower same, drawing the locking bar 7 upwardly into locked position,

A catch 19 is fastened to the inner face of one side of the portion 1 of the trunk adjacent the lower end thereof and extending outwardly beyond the meeting edge of the trunk into the other half when the latteris closed, this catch occurring intermediate of the bearings 8 and 9 of the bar 7. The outer extremity of the catch 19 has a forwardly and downwardly inclined lip 20 forming a notch 21 intermediate of the lip and the body portion of the catch, said notch being for interlocking engagement with the laterally projecting pin 22 fixed t0 the locking bar 7 Above the catch 19 and below the bearing 8 of the lever 7 and rigidly fixed thereto is the fiat headed dog 23 provided with the convex edge 24 which, when the lever is lowered, slidably engages the inclined extremity of the lip 20 on the catch 19, such slidable contact being for the purpose of producing that action in respect to the two halves of the trunk, commonly referred to as cracking same; that is to say, slightly separating the two meeting edges of the halves of the trunk as an initial opening thereof. On the other hand when the bar 7 is raised by the action of the lowering of the half 4: of the top of the trunk, the two halves of the trunk having been approximately closed, the pin 22 At 25 I have illustrated any desired form of lock for the ultimate securing of the two halves of the upper end of the trunk.

From the foregoing it is evident that I have devised a simple and effective device for either securely looking or cracking open a wardrobe trunk, the 531116 being operable by the manipulation of thehinged closure at the upper end thereof.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim and desire to secure by-Letters Patent, is:

An attachment for Wardrobe trunks having a portion of one end thereoi hinged as a closure comprising areciprocal bar mounted longitudinally'of the edge of one of the separable halves of the body portion of the trunk, spaced locking and cranking means mounted upon the lower end of the lever, operating means attached to the upper end of the lever, a cooperative catch carried by the other of the separable halves for engagement intermediate of the locking and cracking means on the lever, andmeans cooperatively connecting the upper endof the lever With the-hinged closure. r p

In testimonywhereof I hereunto afiix my signature.

- ROBERT J. CHRUDEN. 

